Long story short

Our opinions: We weigh in briefly on cash-strapped homeless groups, e-cigarettes, and street music in downtown Albany.

Winter over, debts linger

The bone-chilling winter nights have finally abated. That’s not so for the debts racked up by local organizations that served a surge of homeless people needing shelter on Code Blue nights.

Albany’s Homeless and Travelers Aid Society reported 1,449 overnight stays for homeless people under the Code Blue program to provide shelter to the homeless when temperatures become lethally frigid. Last winter only 279 overnights were provided.

Now the Capital City Rescue Mission, which is entirely funded by donations, needs contributions to help it recover from the estimated $15 to $20 it costs to provide a bed and a meal on a Code Blue night. Other organizations are in the same fix.

We often hear that charity must begin with the private sector, not government. Maybe now that heating bills are down, the more fortunate will find a little extra to rescue the rescuers. Please be generous.

Delay tax on e-cigs

As the public health community debates the implications of electronic cigarettes, some states want to cash in on the rapidly growing market by taxing the devices just like conventional cigarettes.

Before the federal government has established detailed regulations for e-cigarettes, two dozen states want to draw on sales of the devices as a new source of revenue through a special excise tax, as cigarettes are taxed now.

Government should go slowly here. Regulations to keep minors from taking up even a fake cigarette habit make sense, but it’s worth more study to see whether e-cigarettes have value in helping people quit or cut back on smoking. That’s something states shouldn’t discourage with heavy taxation.

Street sounds for Albany

The big news this week about music in downtown wasn’t only about Paul McCartney playing the Times Union Center on July 5.

Rather, from June 13 to July 11, ten pianos decorated by local artists and community groups will be located in public spaces downtown, for anyone to play and enjoy. It’s part of an international program called “Play Me, I’m Yours.”

Maybe when he’s here, Sir Paul might be compelled to stop by one and bang out a few bars of “Hey Jude,” or “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road.”